20 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



persons iu this country to be distributed abroad. In most cases the list 

 of distribution is made out by the party sending the copies, but some- 

 times the selection of recipients is left to the Institution. Among the 

 articles distributed in this way which we should have mentioned in the 

 last report, is the narrative of an exploration to Musardo, the capital of 

 the Western Mandigoes, through the country east of Liberia, by Benja- 

 min Anderson, a young man of pure negro blood. The narrative was 

 printed without correction from the origiuiil manuscript at the expense 

 of Mr. H. M. Schieffelin, of New York, and nearly the whole of the edi- 

 tion was presented to the Institution for distribution. 



The labors of the Institution in the way of exchanges can scarcely be 

 too highly estimated. Whatever tends to enlarge the sympathies of 

 individuals and of nations, to render the progress of thought iu each 

 country common to all, must serve an important end in advanc- 

 ing the world in intelligence and morality. The works which are re- 

 ceived through this system, by the several institutions of the United 

 States, contain the records of the advance of science in all foreign coun- 

 tries at the present day. They do not consist of ordinary books, but 

 special accounts of the actual increase of knowledge by the liuman 

 family, or an account of that which constitutes the advance of man in 

 a higher and wider intellectual development. 



To afford information as to the regulations adopted for transmitting 

 packages intended for exchange, a circular, of which the following is a 

 copy, has been widely distributed : 



1. Every i)ackage, without exception, must be enveloped in strong 

 paper, and so secured as to bear separate transportation by express or 

 otherwise. 



2. The address of the institution for which, or the individual for whom, 

 the parcel is intended must be written legibly on the package, and the 

 name of the sender in one corner. 



3. No single package must exceed the half of a cubic foot iu bulk. 



4. A detailed list of addresses of all the parcels sent, with their con- 

 tents, must accompany them. 



5. No letter or other communication can be allowed in the parcel, 

 excepting such as relates exclusively to the contents of the package. 



C. All packages must be delivered iu Washington free of freight and 

 other expenses. 



Unless all these conditions are complied with the parcels are not for- 

 warded from the Institution; and on the failure to comply with the 

 first and second conditions, they are returned to the sender for correction. 



The Institution recommends that every parcel should contain a blank 

 acknowledgment, to be signed by the recipient and returned through the 

 agent of the Institution, or, what is still better, directly by mail to the 

 sender. Should exchanges be desired for what is sent, the fact should be 

 explicitly stated on the accompanying circular. Much disappointment is 

 frequently expressed at the absence of any return in kind for trausmis- 



